Speaking at this evening's press conference, the government's newly appointed coronavirus project manager, Professor Ronny Gamzu, echoed the Prime Minister's words earlier, saying that the government would be doing everything possible to avoid having to impose a national closure, given the tremendously damaging impact the economy and public morale.

Prime minister at press conference: We don't want to institute a lockdown, but we will do it if necessary.

Speaking again at this evening's press conference, Professor Ronni Gamzu, the government's coronavirus project manager, said that the decision as to whether or not to impose a national closure is not dependent the number of virus transmissions."Everyone should stop playing this guessing game," he said.

Researchers working at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Hannover, Germany, are reporting that they have succeeded in training sniffer dogs to detect Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.Reporting the study, the BBC notes that after just a week of training, dogs correctly categorized samples in 94% of cases.If their findings can be replicated, sniffer dogs could be deployed in locations such as airports and large-scale public events. Several other countries, including the UK and Israel, have been attempting similar projects, so far without published results.

Speaking at a press conference this evening, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that the government's new coronavirus project manager, Professor Ronni Gamzu, will receive full authority to oversee testing, epidemiological investigations, and quarantine rules."Professor Gamzu has wide-ranging experience [in the field of public health]," Netanyahu said. "He has dealt with cancer treatment with a great measure of success, and I am sure that he will help us to succeed in this battle against the coronavirus as well."

Speaking at a press conference this evening, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that the government is doing what it can to avoid having to impose a nationwide closure, but that if circumstances arise under which it becomes necessary, a closure will be imposed.

Responding to the Prime Minister's statement at this evening's press conference that the Blue & White party is preventing the government from passing a budget, a spokesperson from Blue & White said:"The Prime Minister should stop trying to drag the country into elections. Instead, there are two things he should be doing: dealing with the coronavirus crisis by passing a long-term budget and committing himself to abide by the agreement he signed two months ago."Israeli citizens realize by now that political game-playing isn't going to get the bills paid."

Responding to recent polls that have shown public confidence in the government collapsing, MK Moshe Yaalon (Yesh Atid-Telem) said: "The polls are reflecting the feeling that I'm getting from all parts of the country. There's no confidence in this awful government. There's no faith in the leadership. The government, and the man at its helm, have no mandate to continue in their positions."